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3:13 PM 25th January 2024
sports

Biomechanics Clinic Podo Launches Mobile Clinic

 
Mobile clinic working with a women’s football.

Pictures supplied by: Panpathic Communications
Mobile clinic working with a women’s football. Pictures supplied by: Panpathic Communications
Christophe Champs of PODO London is launching a brand-new mobile clinic, meaning you can now get the highest quality bespoke orthotics wherever you are in the world.

Since 2016, Christophe has been working with patients at his London clinic to help correct postural and biomechanical issues that are causing pain or putting a client at risk of injury. By testing both the moving gait and the still posture, Christophe can correct misalignment and asymmetry by creating custom-made orthotics to suit the exact needs of each individual client.

Christophe helps private individuals and works regularly with athletes from a diverse range of sports, including cycling, football, running, golf and skiing.

Providing a bespoke, specialist service such as this involves not only Christophe’s expertise but also machinery, technology and a large stock of materials. That is why, until now, he has required his athletes and patients to come to his London clinic where everything from initial tests right through to fitting the orthotics is done in one, typically 90-minute, session. Indeed, he has had patients fly in from all over the world to make use of his expertise and unique clinic/workshop setup.

Mobile clinic working with a women’s football.

Pictures supplied by: Panpathic Communications
Mobile clinic working with a women’s football. Pictures supplied by: Panpathic Communications
While achieving amazing results for so many in this way, it had become increasingly apparent that Christophe was not necessarily serving his patients as well as he might, particularly as he is frequently working with large sports teams and players, including Women’s football clubs. It was clear that one man travelling to a club made more sense than, say, 15 team members travelling to central London.

This came into sharp focus in early 2023 when Christophe met with the in-house doctor of the Arsenal Football Club and his head physio.

Christophe says:
“While the comparison between PODO and a football team - we have 90 mins to get the job done, and we play better at home – was an entertaining way of ruling out PODO offering our services on-site, I realised that it actually wasn’t accurate.”

Christophe’s hopes for the future of PODO included being able to offer his services far more widely, geographically. Describing his work helping people to correct misalignment and avoid associated pain and discomfort as his “passion”, he didn’t want to limit that to London alone.

But he was concerned that moving out of the fixed clinic setting, he would be sacrificing PODO’s high standards, in particular the moulding and craftsmanship of the PODO orthotics, which could then lead to a poorer service – something Christophe was determined to avoid.

After the Arsenal meeting, Christophe went to the clinic’s main provider, reconnected with their original provider in France, and met the other leaders in machinery in Europe, and worked closely with them to create a solution for every single problem that made ‘going mobile’ a challenge including volume, weight and the capacity to travel, for example.

10 months later, Christophe could not be happier with the results. “The mobile workshop isn’t just more compact and transportable in anti-shock and waterproof cases, but the electronics are actually more advanced - even the grinding bench rotates at twice the speed previously achieved. The mobile clinic is just as good as the static clinic in London - meaning all patients get the same quality of service and orthotics.

The mobile clinic allows PODO to go on the road whenever, and to wherever, needed. PODO is now visiting sports clubs, gyms, private homes, etc. with all the equipment required to give to the same high quality personalised bespoke service and orthotics fitting that PODO patients expect and that Christophe is known for.

More specifically, it will allow Christophe and PODO to help tackle the large number of knee injuries in Women’s Football that are due to footwear which is not designed for women’s feet. It will also enable him to export the expertise and unique craftsmanship abroad, popping up within hospitals, training camps and private homes outside the UK.

PODO Mobile Clinic & Workshop allows everyone access, regardless of location, to high quality custom made and personally fitted orthotics, whether for yourself, friends, family, or an entire athletic team.